The Trump administration has revoked an $80 million grant payment to New York City for migrant shelters, city officials said Wednesday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency clawed back the payments on Tuesday afternoon around 4 p.m., according to city Comptroller Brad Lander. The payments had been received late last week and were awarded to the city during the Biden administration, he said.
Lander called the revocation of funds “highway robbery” and suggested the actions may be illegal, depending on the terms of the city’s grant with FEMA.
City Hall spokesperson Liz Garcia said the Adams administration is conducting an internal investigation into how the funds were revoked, and is exploring litigation options.
Garcia also said that city officials have “engaged” the White House about returning the funds and requested an emergency meeting to resolve the matter.
The seizure comes after Elon Musk criticized FEMA in a post on X for making a $59 million payment to New York City last week for “luxury hotels” to house migrants. He said his Department of Government Efficiency had discovered the payments and concluded the expenditure “violated the law,” though he did not specify how.
A spokesperson for FEMA’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement on Tuesday that four FEMA workers had been fired for “circumventing leadership” in making the payments to New York. The agency did not provide details of the alleged misconduct.
Garcia, the City Hall spokesperson, said only $19 million of that payment was for hotels. The rest of the money was for other congregate shelters, food, security and other costs.
Garcia said the city has never paid “luxury hotel” rates to house migrants. As of Jan. 9, the city has spent an average of $371 per migrant household per night, according to data provided by City Hall to the City Council.
Acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton said in a Monday post on X that the payments to New York City had been “suspended” as of Sunday.
Congress has allocated $237 million in FEMA funding to house and care for migrants living in city shelters, according to city officials. That’s just a fraction of the $7 billion the city has spent on an influx of more than 230,000 migrants into the shelter system since spring 2022.
Before the $80 million payments were revoked on Tuesday, the city had received $200 million in allocated FEMA funds for migrant shelter expenses, according to city officials.
